Asian Handicap Betting

Asian Handicap betting originated in Asia, in the Far East and in recent years, Asian Handicap betting is also very popular with the European punters. Profit margins are far lower than most other markets, often just a couple of percent. Asian Handicap betting eliminates the possibility of a draw result. It offers great value to the bettor and is potentially less risky than traditional "Win-Draw-Win" style betting. The perceived weaker team will get a handicap from the bookies to balance the odds so that is an equal probability for each team to win the game. There will be only two outcomes for the bet, "home win" or "away win". "Handicap" means that a perceived weaker team has received a virtual head start.

Benefits of Betting in Asian Handicaps:
- You bet on only two outcomes, the home or away team, the draw is eliminated, increasing your main winning chance from 33.3% to 50% in a single game.
- You can win your bet even if your team draws or loses the match.

There are only two possible selections in Asian handicap betting, home team win or away team win. Asian Handicap betting thus eliminates the draw option used in fixed odds (1x2).

The greater the difference in ability between the teams involved in the match, the more goals you would expect the favourite to win by and the bigger the handicap will be. The underdog team will therefore be given a head start, a handicap, (of 0.5, 1 ball, etc.) by the favourite team.

The favourite team has to overcome the indicated handicap, and will have it taken away from its final score. The handicap for the favourite is preceded by a minus (-).

As the underdog team is given a head start, they will have the handicap added to its final score. The handicap for the underdog team is indicated by a plus (+).

Take a 0.5 ball handicap example: The underdog team will start the game with a score of 0.5:0 (which then means there can’t be a draw result when the handicap is included, as mentioned above). The favourite team have to win by at least 1:0 to win the bet, while bets on the underdog team win with any other results.

The above example can be applied to handicap of (0,25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5,...) ball(s) given to the underdog team. The favourite team has to clear the handicap in order to win the bet.